ND Response wishes to emphasize its position on the presence and participation of outside groups in its planned events from now until Commencement. As our original statement (March 25) says, "It is appropriate that only members of the Notre Dame community lead all events, and we ask outside groups to respect our responsibilities in this regard."
At no time has ND Response ever invited or endorsed the presence of third-party protesters; they are here as independent parties not affiliated with ND Response in any respect. It is our belief that, in many cases, the methods of these parties are counter-productive and will do more harm than good at Notre Dame. We are motivated by love of our University and have no desire to turn Commencement weekend - or the weeks leading up to it - into a "circus" of any kind. We are not agents of any outside organization. We are ND. As such, we will act as Notre Dame students: in a respectful and mature manner. We will not tolerate any other behavior on our campus.
Anyone who wants to turn our beloved University into a circus will merely end up looking like a clown. We are a serious organization; clowns have no place here.
Jeff Tisak
senior
Sorin College
April 9
